the amount of information available at the click of a mouse or a phone call away is pretty impressive

im sure hes a damn good mechanic regardless

I'm equally impressed with his ability to verbalize and present what he's doing in a coherant manner Ed's no Goss's Garage
But, some times I do cringe when he grinds, sands, sprays without any respiratory protection. Maybe i'm just a wimp.

Am I the only one who thinks this is better than Top Gear? Sure, I love the special episodes, but WD is better overall, antics are fun, but so is seeing and learning how to fix your ****. Something tells me Jeremy doesn't dive into a garage that often...

This needs further clarification....

In order of goodness (how I rate them).....

1) Top Gear UK (can't really top them yet)
2) Wheeler Dealers (not a far 2nd, but not a close one either)
3) Top Gear USA (show still needs more seasoning.....)
4) Chasing Classic Cars (can be 3rd at times)

am i the only one that finds the show to be somewhat "half a$$ed" ? i think next episode their doing a quattro coupe but i still can't get myself into liking the show. Chasing classic cars is my all time favorite behind uk top gear

am i the only one that finds the show to be somewhat "half a$$ed" ? i think next episode their doing a quattro coupe but i still can't get myself into liking the show. Chasing classic cars is my all time favorite behind uk top gear

Have you watched some of the early shows?
They have a HUGE budget compared to back then.
Edd rattle canned the wings (front fenders) on a Ford Capri they bought for a few quid, and of course it never matched the rest of the car (not shiny enough, soft paint could not be buffed out).
And I really liked that car.

Back then- it was more "What the typical bloke could do on a car over the weekend for little cash".
And that was fun when it wasn't obviously wrong- like the with Capri.
Mike would also find a pristine example of their project vehicle and they would do a little history on the model (which was nice).
But now they are buying such good example- they don't need to do that.. I guess.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

am i the only one that finds the show to be somewhat "half a$$ed" ? i think next episode their doing a quattro coupe but i still can't get myself into liking the show. Chasing classic cars is my all time favorite behind uk top gear

Chasing Classic Cars is cool too, but the cars are all crazy-ass megabuck cars - I love those, but in my advanced (29yo) age I'm losing touch with the excitement of exotics. If I could afford one I'd want one, but in the real-world I just can't identify with Carini. I don't see it as half-assed, but the whole point is to not be a tens-of-thousands per episode type of show. I will watch TG as well, but I could give a flying **** about the interviews or econobox lap records...

Say the farmer took the car to a shop to get it restored back to a nice level
They would have charged for all the parts- not even tried to salvage the interior parts that Edd did- and then added labor and profit on top of it all.
So he got his 914 restored by a reputable famous mechanic for 4,250 pounds... which is actually a deal when you think about it.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

1) Top Gear UK (can't really top them yet)
2) Wheeler Dealers (not a far 2nd, but not a close one either)
3) Top Gear USA (show still needs more seasoning.....)
4) Chasing Classic Cars (can be 3rd at times)

that m5 has had the classic bmw fan explosion. at least you know all those parts are new then

love the series though.

Yeah, I laughed when I saw that. "Left a tool under the hood?" Nope, the water pump threw the fan like a frisbee. At least it most likely got a water pump, power steering lines, radiator and hoses out of it.

Originally Posted by nismo4life

Care to explain what that is, and how you can tell?!

When the water pump bearing develops play from wearing out, the fan starts to oscillate till the four screws that attach it to the water pump fail. When it goes, it usually slaps the hood right where the hood repair was, and it usually punctures the power steering lines, the radiator, hoses, etc.

The expansion tank in that video was a different color than the OEM tank from that year, which leads me to believe that when they did the radiator, they used a later year expansion tank (white, not amber).

Also, when you look at where that hood repair was, it was just over the fan, not on the radiator cross member (which is where you'd expect the dent if you left tools there and closed the hood).

How do I know all of this? My E39 almost shed the cooling fan. Thankfully I shut it down where there was one screw holding it in place. I got lucky.

Yeah, I laughed when I saw that. "Left a tool under the hood?" Nope, the water pump threw the fan like a frisbee. At least it most likely got a water pump, power steering lines, radiator and hoses out of it.

When the water pump bearing develops play from wearing out, the fan starts to oscillate till the four screws that attach it to the water pump fail. When it goes, it usually slaps the hood right where the hood repair was, and it usually punctures the power steering lines, the radiator, hoses, etc.

The expansion tank in that video was a different color than the OEM tank from that year, which leads me to believe that when they did the radiator, they used a later year expansion tank (white, not amber).

Also, when you look at where that hood repair was, it was just over the fan, not on the radiator cross member (which is where you'd expect the dent if you left tools there and closed the hood).

How do I know all of this? My E39 almost shed the cooling fan. Thankfully I shut it down where there was one screw holding it in place. I got lucky.

I do miss the early ones when Ed went through almost every step and tip. Now they seem to skip a lot of the work.

It's the editing. They have to fit everything into that time slot. Also, I'm pretty sure they cut out the boring basic bits like changing oil, checking fluids, adding air to tires, etc. I wish they would not recap after every commercial.

Yeah, I laughed when I saw that. "Left a tool under the hood?" Nope, the water pump threw the fan like a frisbee. At least it most likely got a water pump, power steering lines, radiator and hoses out of it.

I usually see it more due to a fan clutch failure, the clutch stays locked, and the fan blades go flying like shurikens in battle. I had 2 m5s and 3 e38s at my place once with those same dents. It usually breaks the hood release as well. All because people don't maintain their ish.

The old eps of this show were fun, I just felt bad for Edd sometimes working in an unheated garage. Kinda nice to see they have a lil bit of a budget now

I can still think of a ton of cars they could do still. What about a mk1 Capri? Or for a high buck challenge, a Lotus Carlton. I'd def tune in for that. .

By the way, Episode 6 (Mercedes G-Wagen) is out, including HD version.
Available from the usual sources.

Great episode as usual.

What I really wish is that Discovery would release all episodes on DVD or Bluray, hopefully including some extra footage for geeks like us. There are earlier series that can be downloaded but the quality is pretty awful especially for series 1 and 2.

Last edited by J-Tim; 04-26-2012 at 09:35 PM.

“I would request that my body in death be buried not cremated, so that the energy content contained within it gets returned to the earth, so that flora and fauna can dine upon it, just as I have dined upon flora and fauna during my lifetime” - Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

The thing that gets me is Ed always cheaps out on something, even the new episodes. Refurb engine for the Beetle, cleaned and repainted tins, new this, clean that, and the alternator pulley is still half covered in rust. The VW panel bus has a shiny hopped up engine, but the transmission is still covered with 1/2 an inch of crud. Things like these irritate me.
And I hate the haggling over price with the prospective buyers. Use the time to show more work being done.
Nits picked, I love the show.

The thing that gets me is Ed always cheaps out on something, even the new episodes. Refurb engine for the Beetle, cleaned and repainted tins, new this, clean that, and the alternator pulley is still half covered in rust. The VW panel bus has a shiny hopped up engine, but the transmission is still covered with 1/2 an inch of crud. Things like these irritate me.
And I hate the haggling over price with the prospective buyers. Use the time to show more work being done.
Nits picked, I love the show.

Well... having some originality may be appealing to some buyers.
Most knowledgeable buyers are wary of steam cleaned engine bays.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”